§ Mr. Clifton-BrownTo ask the Secretary of State for Transport if he will list the statutory provisions which currently exist for the purposes of regulating moored tankers in Lyme Bay and other United Kingdom waters.
§ Mr. NorrisAt the present time, articles 9 and 14 of the Convention on the Territorial Seas and Contiguous Zone 1958 govern the freedom of all ships to proceed through and anchor in this region during the normal course of a passage.
Regulations have been drafted under section 35 of the Merchant Shipping Act 1988, to govern ship-to-ship transfers of dangerous goods, marine pollutants, noxious liquid substances in bulk, oil fuel bunkers, crude oil and refined products, within United Kingdom territorial limits beyond port limits, including Lyme hay. These regulations will be laid before Parliament in the near future.
In addition, United Kingdom regulations giving effect to the Safety of Life at Sea Convention 1972—SOLAS —and the Convention for Preventions of Pollution from Ships 1973–78—MARPOL—generally apply to non-United Kingdom ships within our territorial seas.